[Training] Stabbing stuff [Solo]

[Markus Andres]

9th of Fall 511 AV Markus had been lucky. He had gathered a mixture of daggers and what not. The lucky part was that he had managed to borrow all those daggers, since the knights usually would ask questions if someone wanted to anything near the dozen daggers Markus had. Markus was carrying the daggers to the shooting range. It was time he practiced his dagger skills. They were mediocre, at best and at worst, Markus had a higher chance of accidentally cutting himself when it got hectic. He unsheated the first dagger and spread his legs and took careful aim. He looked at the target, a whooping 5 yards away. He felt like he could almost reach out and touch the target and with his bastard sword, he could have cut it in half with a jump forward. He slid his right leg back a little and his arm swung in a high arc and he let go of the dagger. It violently twisted in the air and hit the target. But it did not stick. It rather harmlessly hit it sideways and fell to the ground. Markus tried to console himself with the fact that it had hit, but from five feet away... Anything else would have been embarrassing. He picked up the dagger and took a long step back and was at the same distance. He tried a underhand throw this time. The dagger managed to twist over 360 degrees in the short time in the air. Markus had put quite a lot of spin in the dagger and when it hit the target, it struck with the tip first. Markus looked on hopefully. His second throw and he might already have managed to make a successful throw. But the dagger didn’t feel like committing to the target and it just fell down after a brief moment of tricking Markus.

[Markus Andres]

Markus had spent the past five chimes throwing daggers at the same target. None of the daggers had stuck. The one nearest to sticking was still the second throw. Markus felt frustrated and his anger was starting to show. He would have to step up his game and actually learn to throw those daggers. It would be useless to throw a dagger at someone if it just harmlessly bounced off of them again. Would hardly be worth anything as a distraction either. Markus grabbed another dagger and took careful aim at the target. His arm swung around and soon released the dagger. It flew effortlessly at the target. Or so Markus thought. For it didn’t actually hit the target. Markus had been a tad too eager in his throw that it had managed to go over the target. Markus had somehow done the impossible. He had entirely missed a target from 5 yards away. That was when something struck a nerve in him and Markus unsheathed a dagger and just jumped forward and started stabbing the target repeatedly. His left hand holding the edge of the target and his right hand just thrusting the dagger forward into the target. Piercing it a dozen times. When he was done and huffing a little from the sudden explosion of energy. He stepped away. All his frustration vented in a safe manner. He picked up the daggers he had missed with and went back to his mark. The decided to back up even further. Perhaps he ought to start with a longer range. 5 yards wouldn’t make a difference in combat. He had to be able to do it from at least 20 feet away for it to be smarter to throw the dagger, than do as he just had… Jump forward and stab the enemy until he stopped moving. Markus picked up the rest of the daggers and walked a good 15 yards further away. 20 yards was a good distance. At that distance, Markus couldn’t always guarantee that he hit the target with the shortbow. Markus weighed the dagger in his head. Patiently stood for a couple of seconds, his feet spread out. He took careful aim at the target. He went through the throwing motion slowly. Trying to commit the movement to the muscles. After doing this motion three times, Markus felt confident enough to try. His arm swiftly swung and his hand let go of the dagger at the time Markus thought was the best. The dagger left his hand and traveled in a gentle arc and got a whopping 15 yards before it touched ground. Markus adjusted his aim and noted to throw higher.

[Markus Andres]

Daggers littered the area around the target. Markus had his last dagger left before he had to go pick them up again. He noted the distance, the nature of his last half dozen failed throws, noted to himself to throw harder and more precise. Always easy to tell one self, harder to actually accomplish. But Markus’ right arm suddenly lashed out. His triceps was as steel when he released the dagger. It flew in a high arc. Spinning wildly in the air. Markus could already see now that it was on the right course. Just another 10 yards. Markus eyes went wide as it happened. The target had a dagger protruding from the outer most ring. But that was not important! The important part was that Markus had managed to hit the target from a distance of 20 yards! It might have been equal parts luck and physical strength, with very little owing to his dagger throwing skills. Markus’ arms went into the air and a audible “YES!” left his lips. Markus feet carried him quickly to the target and he was examining his work. If that had been a reimancer trying to fry Markus, he would now have a dagger in his chest. … Or left arm would probably be closer to the truth. Markus grabbed the dagger and pulled it out of the target. That was when Markus realized how sore his right arm was. There was a world to difference between drawing a bow and throwing a dagger. Different muscles used. Markus deemed it was the right time for a break. Or just a change of activity. He gathered all of the daggers and went over to one of the training dummies. Placed all but one of the daggers on the ground. Slowly unsheathed it and went forward so he was five feet away from the dummy. He had to try and remember how you fought with a dagger. It wasn’t power attacks like with a bastard sword. It was precise stabs and slashes at vulnerable places. Like the neck, eye or a dagger plunged up into the heart. Markus went forward grabbed the dummy by the shoulder and stabbed the dagger up into the straw belly and into what he assumed would be the heart. It took more power than he had assumed. If it took more power to pierced straw… It would require a whole lot more to pierce human flesh, organs and perhaps even protective leather.

[Markus Andres]

Markus realized he had to change his mindset. With a dagger he did not have the same controlling range as he did with the bastard sword. He tried to recall someone he had fought with a dagger. There was that street rat almost two seasons earlier. Jokor was his name. Perhaps he had to think like him. Strategize like him. Markus tried to recall the style of the boy. They had only fought once and Markus had won that fight through a slightly better combat training and stronger body. Quick and agile body. A sly mind… Dirty too. Markus backed up from the dummy. Judged his distance. Weighted the dagger in his hand. Judged the length of the dagger. He would have to move swiftly in his attacks. He imagined the dummy was himself from the view of Jokor. A heavily armored squire. Well trained in the bastard sword and having a shield to defend himself with. Just picturing that severely limited his choice of attacks. Plunging a dagger into the heart was impossible. The throat was even harder. He would have to try and recall the weaknesses of the armor he used to wear. He recalled the area below the armpit wasn’t strongly protected. Or even in some cases, completely unarmored. Markus backed up a bit. To the area that was the optimal attack range for a bastard sword wielded by Markus. Markus in a fight with himself. He would swing at Jokor before he got close. In Markus’ mind, the dummy did exactly that. Markus quickly stepped back and out of range so the imaginary sword passed before him. That was when Markus should attack the dummy. A brief window of opportunity. Markus’ feet barely touched the ground before his powerful legs pushed him forward again. Covered the distance to the dummy in two quick steps and then the dagger was aimed at where the armpit would be. He imagined the long slender dagger pierce the flesh and cripple the right arm. But reality was much different. Markus rather than angle the dagger into the “arm” of the dummy. Just stabbed the air so the dagger was sticking out behind the dummy. He needed to practice more on his aim when he was charging.

[Markus Andres]

Several tries and chimes later, Markus managed to get the first successful attack to connect properly. The dagger went into the dummy and Markus knew instinctively that it would work. But he had begun to think. If he tried that against his master, the sword would probably not be swung wildly enough to give that window of opportunity and if he relied on that… then he would impale himself on the sword when he leaped forward. Ideally, he would have two daggers. One in each hand, naturally, one would keep the weapon away or push it away in case it was in the way and the other would be directed at the weak points in the armor. Markus had briefly in his spar with Jokor used two daggers. But he had not been able to properly coordinate the left hand and it had in many ways just been held as a sort of shield – something he knew a lot about. Markus took a couple of steps away from the dummy and watched it stand there, motionless. That was when he thought of his friend Richard. Having two daggers, throw one of them as a diversion while diving in with the other to target the weakpoints. Markus would incorporate both the things he had been training that day. He picked up one of the other daggers and held it in his left hand. 6 yards away. Easy to hit the target. He looked at the daggers as he planned. He would have to use right hand for both attacks. His left hand wasn’t dexterous enough with a bladed weapon. Not yet at least. So, he would throw with the right hand. Then as he moved forward, shift the other dagger into his right hand and then attack again. It would require some very quick hands.

[Markus Andres]

The distance judged. The arms going through the motions. Markus getting up from the ground after ten quick push-ups to get his heart pumping to simulate the feeling he got in combat. He also felt a strong desire to go sprint a mile to really get his heart racing. But his eyes narrowed on the target. Both daggers in hands. A sudden movement from Markus had the dagger hauled at the target. It spun in the air as the almost one pound heavy dagger flew through the air. Markus followed soon after. His hands clasping together as the secondary dagger changed hands. The first dagger hit the target, with the hilt first and in the left shoulder. Intention: To have the target raise his shield. Momentarily obstruction of view. It bounced off the dummy. Markus mentally pushed the blade away with his left hand and then moved his right hand up into the hopefully now open armpit. Where the blade missed the target by a little less than an inch. Markus could see the first inch of the dagger on the other side of the dummy. But the combo had worked. Markus stepped back and located the secondary dagger. Wondering if he should sheathe it so it didn’t accidentally bounce back towards him. He opted not to. Might be a possibility it would stick to the dummy and that would elevate his mood to the skies. He stepped back and prepared to do it all again. The dagger flew through the air. Bounced off of the dummy’s head. In the direction of the charging Markus. Markus’ eyes went wide with shock and he fumbled with the dagger and cut the side of his right hand. Not a deep wound, but still enough to make a steady stream of blood drip from his hand. The pain washed over him and he threw the dagger aside. His hand hurt a little and he looked at the wound. It had merely been grazed. But he didn't want to aggravate the wound and risk That would be enough training for that day. He walked over to the first aid kit on the training places. Washed the hand in some water that immediately got blood red. Then got out some simple gaze and wrapped it around his palm. A simple first aid. He then looked to the bucket of water and reminded himself he ought to replace that water. So someone else didn't end up drinking his blood. Markus gathered all the daggers and then took the bucket and left for one of the wells.

[Chevalier]

Hear Ye Hear Ye, Thou Hast Been Awarded... Markus +3 Dagger +3 Throwing (Dagger) +1 Bodybuilding +1 Tactics Lores: Lore : Compensating for Distance (Basic), Lore: Visualizing an Underwhelming Weapon Vs. Overwhelming Armor How Hath This Occurred? : Not much to say here, throwing daggers can be tough, can't it?